Longitudinal determinants of mobility: new evidence for Indigenous children and their carers

Abstract

In this paper, I used data from Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) to look at the factors associated with the probability of an Indigenous child and their carer changing usual residence over a (roughly) one-year timespan. A number of new insights emerge from the analysis. First, those carers of Indigenous children who changed usual residence in the year leading up to Wave 1 of the LSIC were more likely to change usual residence again in the year (or so) that followed. Second, the older the carer, the lower the probability of moving, reflecting the lifecourse patterns of mobility. Third, those who lived in mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous households had higher levels of mobility than those who lived in Indigenous-only households. The fourth main insight was that the characteristics of one’s dwelling seem to be more important factors in explaining population movement than the characteristics of the area in which one lives. Arguably, the most important insight from the paper is the ability of longitudinal data like the LSIC to provide answers to important policy questions.

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Acknowledgments

The project from which this paper originated was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). I would like to thank the department for their support and the FaHCSIA officers who assisted in the instigation of the project and provided comments on written outputs. I would also like to thank Dr Boyd Hunter and Miss Jessamy Bath for their many helpful and insightful comments. Gillian Cosgrove provided expert editing and formatting of the paper for which I am grateful. Two anonymous referees made a number of insightful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Finally I would like to thank the LSIC Steering Committee chaired by Prof. Mick Dodson, AM and all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families that contributed to the survey.

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